Convertible shoe mechanism



Dec. 12, 1961 w. SCHAEFER 3,012,341

CONVERTIBLE SHOE MECHANISM Filed Sept. 7, 1960 F13 M4015: ESE-#62 FER ENTOR.

United States Patent Office 3,i2,3il Patented Dec. 12, 1961 3,012,341 CONVERTIBLE SHOE MECHANISM Waldemar Schaefer, Ramboux Strasse 45, Trier, Germany Filed Sept. 7, 1960, Ser. No. 54,501 Claims priority, application Germany Dec. 28, 1959 12 Claims. (Cl. 362.5)

The invention consists of a convertible shoe device which permits changing the color of the shoe to match the clothing chosen at any given time, and consequently makes it possible to achieve a fashionable effect.

Shoes whose upper portion is completely interchangeable or whose upper portion is permanently attached in the usual manner, are well-known in themselves. For it to be possible to change the entire shoe upper, however, a complicated construction is necessary, since otherwise the requisite durability is not obtained. Apart from that, such shoes of this type do not, as a rule, have a shape which fits satisfactorily, while shoes with a firmly attached upper and exchangeable parts along with it are, indeed, simple to produce, but have an external shape which is not very attractive in appearance.

The present invention elhninates the disadvantages of both of these known types of shoes, and provides a handsomely shaped shoe with the ability to fit well, afford durable performance, and Whose conversion to another color is easily accomplished.

Starting with an unchangeable shoe whose upper is joined strongly to the shoe foundation, an object of the present invention is to provide said shoe with a removable, easily changed supplementary member which gives the shoe in each case a variable appearance. It is proposed according to the invention to detachably arrange on the front part of the shoe upper a cover member with an appearance different from the original shoe body.

For interchangeably fastening the body covering between the outer sole and the insole an intermediate sole is arranged therebetween which is provided along its edge with a groove with a space located towards the outside, whereby a tension wire may be fastened on the lower edge of the cover and inserted into the groove. The tension wire, serving to fasten the cover, is detachably fixed at its ends to the bottom of the sitcom an optional manner.

The cover to be arranged over the body of the shoe may consist of fabric, thin leather, or the like, and may be adapted to the color of the clothing in each case.

In accordance with the improvement of this invention, the forward part of the shoe, connected with the outer sole by means of pinching in the usual manner and adequately reinforced, remains beneath the cover; thus the production of the cover over a ridge is unnecessary, and, on the contrary, each optional shoe covering is produced in a simple manner apart from the shoe itself.

The profile forming the notch for the reception of the tension wire is U-shaped in cross section and preferably, it is fabricated on the intermediate sole and consists of two bars directed downwardly toward the outer sole and extends back along the border of the intermediate sole. The outer bar is shorter than the inner bar to form a space for inserting the tension wire.

The space bounded by the inner bar and the intermediate sole is provided with a filler material which permits an adhesion with the hard outer sole. The filler material is pulled close to the insole for connection to the body of the shoe.

in order to fasten the cover of the forward part of the shoe onto the shoe, one end of the tension Wire is attached to one end of a pin and the other end of the wire is a tached to the end of a socket. The pin and socket are inserted in one another and are latched together. They are held by a cover which is attached in or behind I the intermediate sole and between the insole and the outer sole.

The shoe provided according to the invention with an interchangeable cover for the forward part thereof possesses, because of the intermediate sole, good ability to retain its shape and great stability, without impairing the requisite flexibility of the sole.

The upper area of the cover over the usual forward part of the shoe, which incidentally can be produced from a leather of lesser value in a shoe made according to the invention, eliminates the use of a reinforced forward part for the transformation previously mentioned. The fastening of the cover itself is guaranteed by means of the shaping of the notch on the intermediate sole, which eliminates any springing out of the tension wire from the notch.

To carry the idea of the invention further, not only the forward part of the shoe, but also the entire shoe body, can be provided with an interchangeable cover. In this way it is possible to give any optional colorful appearance to the shoe without having to adjust the appearance itself to the basic color of the shoe.

To fasten the cover, the lower edge of it, reinforced with a tension wire or an elastic band, is brought into the notch by bendingit through the space left by the outer bar. In order to secure the tension wire connections in the notched area, it is proposed according to the invention to pull the. outer bar of the notch obliquely inwardly in the region where the shoe flexes. The angle of inclination favored for the bar with respect to the vertical lies between 30 and 45. As a result of the oblique arrangement of the outer bar, security is furnished against'any springing out of the tension wire or band due to flexing of. the shoe when the wearer is walking.

The invention is illustrated in the attached drawings wherein FIGURE 1 is a schematic top view of a ladys shoe.

FIGURE 2 is a cross section on the line IIII of 7 FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is a cross section on the line III- II of FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary cross section through the fastening device shown in FIGURE 3.

FIGURE 5 is a cross section of a modification of the retention means shown in FIGURE 2.

The shoe represented schematically in FIGURE 1 displays the well-known shape of a pump style shoe. At the points characterized with the capital letters A, B, C, and D, fastening can be provided for the ends of the tensron wire.

The cross-section represented in FIGURE 2 illustrates the basis of the subject matter of the invention. Between the insole 1 and the outer sole 2 the intermediate sole 3 is located and is'provided with the section 3a, forming a U-shaped notch 7. The notch 7 as shown in this form of the design, consists of two bars 4 and 5 fabricated on the sole 3 and directed downwards towards the hard sole 2. The outer bar 5 is shorter than the inner bar 4 so that a space 6 is formed on the outer side. The bars can be fabricated directly onto the intermediate sole 3 or can be connected therewith by adhesives or similar means. The customary reinforced forward part 8 of the shoe is attached between the insole 1 and the intermediate sole 2. Over this forward part 8 of the shoe lies the interchangeable cover 9 which is provided with a tension wire 10 at the part which adjoins the circumference of the sole. The wire 10 is inserted into the notch 7 through space 6 formed by bars 4 and 5.

The dimension of space 6 depends on the diameter of the tension wire 10 employed. As a result of the bar 5 bearing on the tension wire 10, the latter is prevented from springing out of the notch when the shoe is flexed.

pin 12, which has a flared shape.

3 The cover 9 can for example be produced from leather or fabric.

The space defined by the inner bar 4 and the intermediate sole 3 is provided with filler material 17 which permits an adhesion with the outer sole 2;

. As is evident from FIGURE 3, one end 11 of the tension wire is connected with pin 12 and the other with socket 13. The pin and socket are inserted in a casing 16 in or behind the intermediate sole 3 between the insole 1 and the outer sole 2 and are connected with one another. The tension wire 10 preferably is provided with loops on its ends with which it is attached to socket 13, which is provided with a flared end, and in a similar manner the wire it) is also attached to the outer end of As is obvious from FIGURES 3 and 4 pin 12 is conically shaped and has a crowned head 14 on its narrow end, the innermost end of the head presenting an annular flange. Thereby the head 14 of pin 12 is kept to the same diameter as the opening 15 in the rear surface of socket 13 which faces this end of the pin. In this form of design, the pin and socket remain under the effect of wire 10. A latching takes place because of the conical shape of the pin in coordination with the tension force of the wire after the insertion of the pin into the socket because the head 14, facing socket 13, assumes the position indicated in FIG- URE 4; thus the rear surface flange of the head of the pin slides over the exterior rear surface .of the socket. In order to loosen this connection, the head of the pin must be again brought into alignment with the opening 15 of the socket.

It is within the scope of the invention to provide other means for fastening the ends of the tension wire onto the shoe. For example, the pin and socket can also be screwed together.

In FIGURE 5 of the drawing which shows across section corresponding to FIGURE 2 with a representation of insole 1 and an outer sole 2, the outer bar 5;: of the profile part being bent inwardly facing toward the inner bar 4, thus allowing closure of the space 7 In shoes with very high heels, a clamp of optional finish can also be arranged for further security at the point of flexing of the shoe, which compresses the tension Wire or respectively the tension band into the profile part. In order to' avoid having the outer bar of the profile project disturbingly into the region of afiixing the heel'in a high-heeled shoe, the bar is obliquely shaped corresponding to the design of the heel,

I claim:

1. In a shoe having an upper, an insole, an interme- 2. The combination according to claiml, wherein said retention means comprises an inverted U shape notch extending along the edge of said intermediate sole, said notch formed by two bars directed downwardly toward the outer sole, the outermost of'said bars being shorter than the innermost bar in order to form a space for insertion of said tension wire.

3. The combination according to claim 2, wherein the space defined by the innermost bar and the intermediate sole is provided with a filler material glued to the outer sole.

4. The combination according to claim 3, wherein the filler material is drawn near to the insole.

5. The combination according to claim 1, wherein the means for fastening said tension wire in said notch comprises a pin, a socket open at both ends and enclosing said pin, and a casing enclosing both said pin and socket, said casing being adapted to be afiixed in or behind the intermediate sole between the insole and outer sole.

6. The combination according to claim 5, wherein said pin is conically shaped and is provided with a head at its narrow end opposite its enlarged end where the anchoring point of one end of the tension wire is located, said head being of the same diameter as the opening in said socket through which it is inserted, the end of the socket adjacent the head of the pin serving as the anchoring point for the other end of the tension wire.

7. The combination according to claim 5, wherein said pin and socket are passed through loops on the ends closed tension wire along its lower edge to insert into.

said notch.

10. The combination according to claim 8, wherein the notch of the intermediatesole is seamlessly fabricated of diate sole, and an outer sole, the combination comprising a removable cover attachment for the forward part of the upper and retention means for interchangeably fastening said cover to the shoe, said means including a notch providing an outwardly facing space, a tension wire inserted in said space and fastened to the edge of the cover and means for fastening the tension wire at its ends to the shoe foundation.

plastic material, a

11. The combination according to claim 8, wherein the outermost bar of the notch is obliquely bent inwardly in the region where the shoe flexes.

12. The combination according to claim 8, wherein the outermost bar of the notch is made to conform to the shape of the heel in the region of the heel base.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,663,319 Snell Mar. 20, 1928 1,763,605 Haskell .June 10, 1930 1,795,769 Frohman Mar. 10, 1931 2,271,595 Langendorf Feb. 3, 1942 2,887,792 Staff .May 26, 1959 

